Seat construction for stools and the like



Feb. 28, 1950 H. A. GELMAN SEAT CONSTRUCTION FOR STOOLS AND THE LIKEFiled Oct. 5, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. 455227 Q 6 6m Feb. 28,1950 H. A. GELMAN SEAT CONSTRUCTION FOR STOOLS AND THE LIKE 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 5, 1946 111111111 1: L'i'll1 INVENTUR.ffailfj/ Q. 66

BY A, g, Wm,

CZZ i'a Patented Feb. 28, 1959 C THE LIK Harry A. Gelman, Chicago, 111.,assignorto Comfort Lines, Inc., Chicago, 111., a corporation of IllinoisApplication October 5, 1946, Ser'ialNo. 701,465

6 Claims. 1

My invention relates to furniture and includes among its objects andadvantages a furniture product, principally but not necessarily entirelyof metal, particularly adapted to withstand rough handling. In tavernsand various recreation places where the patrons are boisterous thefurniture is likely to be overturned or thrown around a good deal andthe types of construction best suited for ordinary service fail to standup undersuch conditions of use.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure '1 is a view as in section on line 'l-I of Figure 2 except thatthe legs on the plane of the section are shown in elevation;

Figure '2 is a section on line 22 of Figure '1;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the seat member with the upholstery removed;

Figure 4 is a -perspective of the head plate and parts immediatelyassociated therewith, indicating the-manner of assembly.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary detail section on line 5-5 of Figure '1.

The embodiment of the invention selected for illustration is a barstool. Conventionally, this type of stool includes a 'swiveled seatmember I and a frame extending down to terminate in four :feet engagingthe floor at the corners of a square. It .is also usual to have the feetextend out further than the seat to increase the stability of the stool.I have illustrated foul duplicate legs, each comprising a riser "2,.areach .3 extending radially outward, and a relatively short leg andfoot column 4 carrying a conventional rubber foot '5. These four legsare united into an integral riveted structure by a bracing ring {6,which also performs the functions of a foot rail, and by the head plate1, engaging the extreme upper ends of the legs. The ring 6 is ofslightly larger diameter than the seat I and is firmly fastened to theouter ends of the reac'hest.

The fastening involves an indentation of the ring 6 where it engages andfits the reach 3-, as indicated at 8 in Figure 5. I have alsoillustrated an indentation *9 on the upper side ofthe ring 6 and anindentation III on the lower side of the reach :3 to provide additionalbearing for firm seating of the head of the bolt I l and of the washersl2 held in place by the nut l3.

The tight fastening and the slight indentation at 8 produces a structureinwhich considerable resistance is offered by the joint to relativerotation of the parts around the axis of the bolt ll.

Thethead plate 1 is provided with four sockets M at its corners, eachsocket having :a .,circular contour materially flattened at '15. Theriser v2 of each :leg is reduced in diameter at I16 and the portionofreduced diameter is flattened at H so that the reduced section is atight drive fit in the .hole l4. After the end sections of the legs are.driven home .in the head plate 1, they project above the upper surfacethereof andrare the said member. "be done quickly with ones fingers sothat a then deformed into annular rivet flanges clearly indicatedatll-inFigure 1 by a conventional procedure such as swaging.

The-combined action of the fasteningat '8 and the strong keying of thehead plate joints against relative rotation results in a unitaryassembly with high structural strength, particularly against warping orweaving of the frame. While ordinary-use of such a structure generatespractically no'tendency to cause such warping or "The plate 1 receives acentral socket l8.l in the nature of a short vertical tube, integrally'assem bled, as by making it a-drive-fit in the central opening 18.Thesleeve includes anupper portion 19 of -maximum diameter, defining the-down- .wardly facing shoulder 20 for engagement with the plate, and anupwardly and outwardly facing rabbet 2| fitting in the central openingof the lower anti friction dome'22. The seat member I includes thecentral woodenfloor 23 firmly fastened to the central metal reinforcinplate 24 by four bolts 25 with large heads to secure a firm grip on thewood. At the center of the plate 24 I position the upper anti-frictiondome 26, and-the pivot stud2-1 projects axially downward-through thedome 26, The plate 24, dome '26, and stud 21 are all firmly andpermanently united into a single rigid unitary mass of metal as by spotwelding the lip of the dome to the plate and welding the upper end ofthe stud into the "body of the plate. Between the antifriction domes 22and '26 I position one or more intermediate washers 2-8 to improve theantitrictionand wear-resistant properties of the supporting connection.Near the bottom of thestud 2-1 I provide-an annular groove 29 adapted toreceive a split wire ring 30 of sufiicient size so that the shearstrength of the parts when the ring 3!] engages the lower end of thesleeve, is ample when the entire stool is picked up by grasping Removalof the ring 30 can damaged seat member or a damaged supporting frame maybe quickly separated from the rest of the stool for repair orreplacement of :thedamaged member.

The floor '23 constitutes the bottom of a shallow barrel defined (by asheet metal ring ordrum having a cylindrical wall 31 reinforced andstrengthened by an inwardly turned top flange .32. The ends of -thewallBl are lapped overand spot Welded :at The Wall 431 extends down toengage the periphery of the floor 23 and is also provided with ayfirmbearing on the pper surface of the floor by means of six large lugs 34turned inward out of the body of the wall and fastened to the floor bywood screws 35.

The arrangement of the springs 36, per se, forms no part of the presentinvention. Briefly, there are four sinusoidal springs 36, each extendingall the way across the head of the barrel and in undistorted form bowedupwardly as clearly indicated in Figure 1. The end reaches of eachspring terminate in a reversely bent hook portion 31 to facilitateinsertion of the last reach in a socket formed by deforming a portion ofthe metal constituting the wall 3| to form an inwardly extending loop 38still integral with the wall 3| at both ends, through which the reach ofthe spring may be slipped into place. At the center where all foursprings cross close to each other, they are tied together s that theymove up and down in unison, as by means of a simple wire ring 39.

The seat member may be covered with conventional upholstery such as thepadding 40 provided with the burlap cover 4| and the ornamental exteriorcover 42, which extends down around the wall 3! and may be drawn inunder the bottom of the floor 23 and tacked in place. As illustrated,the burlap 4| is separately tacked with tacks 43 and then the outercover 42 extends a little further in and is tacked with tacks 44 so thatin case of serious tearing or soiling of the outer cover only, it may beremoved and replaced without disturbing the fastening for the burlap 4|.To avoid a bellows action, when the seat is in use, I provide at leastone vent hole 45 in the floor 23, so that air displaced by verticalmovement of the upholstery can move in and out freely.

Others may readily adapt the invention for use under various conditionsof service by employing one or more of the novel features involved orequivalents thereof. As at present advised with respect to the presentscope of my invention, I desire to claim the following subject matter.

I claim:

1. A seat comprising: a floor of wood; a sheet metal drum or barrelencircling the peripheral edge of said floor and extending upwardlyabove said floor; an inwardly turned stiffening flange along the upperedge of said sheet metal member; one end of said sheet metal beinglapped inside the other and spot welded thereto; means for transmittingvertical load from said seat member to said floor, comprising sixuniformly spaced lugs turned in from the body of said sheet metal memberand overlying the upper surface of said floor; a wood screw fasteningeach lug to said floor; a spring head carried by said sheet metal drum,said head being dome-shaped with the center higher than the edges; saidhead comprising a plurality of four sinusoidal wire spring members; saidsheet metal drum having integral sockets formed by bending in a strapout of the body of said sheet metal member which is below said inturnedflange; said springs, where they overlie each other at the center of thedome, being tied together to move in unison.

2. A seat comprising: a floor of wood; a sheet metal drum or barrelmember encircling the peripheral edge of said floor and extendingupwardly above said floor; an inwardly turned stiffening flange alongthe upper edge of said sheet metal member; one end of said sheet metalbeing lapped inside the other and fastened thereto; means fortransmitting vertical bad all) from said seat member to said floor,comprising a plurality of uniformly spaced lugs turned in from the bodyof said sheet metal member and overlying the upper surface of saidfloor; means fastening each lug to said floor; a spring head carried bysaid sheet metal member, said head being dome-shaped with center higherthan the edges; said sheet metal member having integral sockets formedby bending in a strap out of the body of said sheet metal member whichis below said inturned flange; said spring head including terminalportions shaped to enter said integral sockets.

3. A seat comprising: a floor; a sheet metal drum or barrel member;means for transmitting vertical load from said member to said floor,comprising a plurality of uniformly spaced lugs overlying the uppersurface of said floor; and means fastening each lug to said floor.

4. A seat comprising: a floor; a drum or barrel member encircling theperipheral edge of said floor and extending upwardly above said floor;an inwardly turned stiffening flange along the upper edge of saidmember; means for transmitting vertical load from said member to saidfloor, comprising a plurality of uniformly spaced lugs turned in fromthe body of said member and overlying the upper surface of said floor;and means fastening at least some of said lugs to said floor.

5. A seat comprising: a floor; a sheet metal drum member encircling theperipheral edge of said floor and extending upwardly above said floor;means for transmitting vertical load from said seat member to saidfloor, comprising a plurality of uniformly spaced lugs turned in fromthe body of said sheet metal member and overlying the upper surface ofsaid floor; means fastening each lug to said floor; a spring headcarried by said sheet metal member; said sheet metal member havingintegral sockets formed by bending in a strap out of the body of saidsheet metal member; said spring head including terminal portions shapedto enter said integral sockets; and a cushion pad supported on saidspring head.

6. A circular seat comprising, a floor, a sheet metal barrel encirclingsaid floor to form a vertical wall extending above the plane of saidfloor, a transversely-disposed integral reinforcing flange formed aroundthe upper perimeter of said vertical wall, said barrel having socketsformed thereon by bending straps struck out therefrom, and a pluralityof sinusoidal springs diametrically arranged with their outer endsseated in said sockets and overlapping each other at the axis of saidbarrel and floor above the plane of the upper perimeter of said verticalwall.

HARRY A. GELMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Asaro Oct. 19, 1943

